The Wedding
by shkaa887
Summary: A man reflects on his past choices and wonders how he could have done things differently - it was his own recklessness that led him to this. It would do him good.


He sat alone, cross-legged on the ice field, his mind shifting between what actually happened and the smaller details that he knew he was making up in his head. There had to have been something that he could have done, what did he miss?

How could he have been so stupid?

He couldn't let himself cry - there was no way he was going to cry, she wouldn't have wanted him to cry. His hands absent-mindedly twirled the necklace from side to side: the strap was wrapped tight around his wrist, and he tugged at the pendant ever now and then, reassuring himself that it was real – as much as he didn't want it to be…

His free hand came up to his eyes, rubbing them hard, before lifting his hood away from his head and running his hand through his dark hair. Breath was shaking in his throat as he gasped at the cool winter air, trying to calm himself down. The tears were welling up again, but he'd stop them.

He wasn't able to tell over the roaring of the wind, but for a moment he could have sworn that he had been humming to himself. His blue eyes shot back and forth across the white snow in front of him, trying to remember her face, her perfect face. Try as he might, he couldn't do it. That creature had taken everything he had ever known her to be, everything he had ever pictured her as.

She was so beautiful.

_She had been so beautiful._

He should have felt him nearby, felt her cross over, but his vision had been clouded. Was this some kind of divine punishment? The spirits acted in strange ways, but even this seemed too extreme for their methods. But what could he have done? What was there to do? If he could have gone back and changed everything he would have, he would give anything to get her back.

He clamped his eyes tight, trying to picture her at the best of times, the wind whistling around his ears and the sun being strengthened through the white clouds.

_The celebrations had faded into the back of his mind when he saw her for the first time, laughing with her friends by the wall. He had just finished adding the final touches to the grandest firebending display he had ever put on, but she hadn't been watching. He knew she wasn't looking at him, despite the eye contact they had before. Spirits, he almost messed up his performance when their eyes caught each other. Had it not been so dark, he may even have seen her blushing._

A smile brushed against his face, and then left just as quickly. He ran his hand over the necklace again, feeling the cool material against his rough fingers, catching them on the poorly-etched design. There was almost a smile on his face again; he had never been all that good at arts and crafts, she didn't care though.

_He had made a big deal of presenting the necklace to her, getting down on one knee like a gentleman and_ _grinning like a happy child as he held it out to her, the moonlight shimmering off the water beneath them. He hadn't even known her for more than a few hours at the time, but somehow he knew she'd say yes. There was a moment, however, when he thought that she wouldn't take it, that she would have laughed – he wasn't used to rejection back then. _

_His fears had been cut short though, after all of that she just placed a hand on his chin and lifted him to his feet, tugging the necklace from his hand and smiling. He had helped her put it on, and it looked good on her, that was for sure. He remembered blushing as she planted a small kiss on his cheek, and he wasn't normally like this: it was usually him making the first move. But with Ummi he wanted to be sure that she liked him, she was amazing._

_The light behind her made it look like she was glowing. Even noticing something like that was pretty soppy for him, with other girls it would have just been a flash of his bicep and they'd have melted in his arms – but not her. She wasn't going to be so easy, and he liked that._

_Less than a month later their wedding was planned; they were going to marry in the Spirit Oasis, it would have been perfect. _

_He remembered her in the white garments her father had presented her with, stepping gracefully towards him through the trees and over the grass that grew here. She was so beautiful; all he could do was smile and rub the tears from his eyes. _

_Then it had happened._

_She had turned, away from the pathway, almost in the complete opposite direction: towards the pond. He remembered calling her name, shock hitting his face hard. Was she leaving him? Could she not go through with it? No, she would have told him. It was then that her father had stepped forwards, reaching out for her as she had approached the water's edge. He had placed a hand on her arm and pulled, nothing, she was being driven away from him. Her father had turned to him, fear in his eyes and shouted something, he couldn't remember what, before waving his arms frantically. _

Now the tears began to fell from his eyes, he shut them even tighter, remembering the rest of it, forcing himself to accept it.

_He had stepped forward, calling her name, but it felt strange, almost distant. He stepped forward again, reaching out for her, but now she was in the water, wading out into the middle of the pond, her dress rippling in the reflections behind her._

"_Please!" he had cried out, his body growing heavier with each step, "Ummi!"_

_But it was no good; she reached the middle of the pond, turned, and then fell. She fell through darkness and into silence._

_The gasps of the surrounding people had been muffled by his scream; he couldn't stop the sound from ripping through his throat as he ran to the water and leapt in head-first. The water had been cool but somehow thick, he slid down through the darkness, leaving light behind, but at the same time approaching light. Far ahead of him there had been a glow, an orange star shimmering in the distance. He had reached out and taken a hold of it, before being pulled up and out of the darkness and into a forest._

_The spirit realm - he had heard stories, but nothing more._

_He remembered chasing a white figure through the fog and the haze, never being able to catch up to her. He couldn't bend. He was lost. She was lost. It was his fault._

He gripped the necklace even harder in his hands, the water droplets freezing on his cheeks. It could have been the cold, or he may have been have been freezing them without knowing, he couldn't tell anymore. He just felt so heavy and useless.

_He had found the necklace on the floor in front of a large tree, twisted and ascending into the sky, branching off into a thousand lines that cut through the brightness above him. He felt so lonely and lost, and he could only imagine how scared she was. But it was no use, before he had a chance to react he was being ripped backwards through the landscape, a vicious light tearing across his chest and through his body._

_He woke lying in the pool, Ummi's family surrounding him. Some were crying, others were angry, blaming him for her disappearance. But he did nothing to them; he had only stood, squeezing the necklace tight, and left, the voices screaming after him._

He came here alone; she had always loved the view.

"_One day," she had said, "We should build a house here! What a place to raise a family!" She buried herself into his arms and smiled. _

_He had only laughed and whispered "Why rush? You know I will never stop loving you!" She had giggled in response. "One day my love, one day…"_

Without her in his arms he couldn't see the beauty of this place - thick clouds had moved in over the ice cliffs, sending dark shadows across the ice fields and hiding the sun. He could feel a storm on the ocean, looking up to see the water stretching away into the distance.

He stood, the snow crunching underfoot and the wind pitching up as he rose. He lifted the necklace to his throat and fastened it tight; it was all he had now - but it would never be enough. He lifted his hood over his head, rubbing his eyes on his sleeves and he did so. He sniffed, the cool air burning his nostrils and clearing his sinuses.

He raised his arms, feeling the heat deep inside of him boiling up and wanting to break free. He balled his hands tight into fists, feeling the muscles resist him due to the cold.

One breath in, one breath out.

The energy broke free, his eyes shimmering and the landscape shaking. He threw his arms down, the clouds above him bursting into a thousand shapes, shattering like icy glass amongst the blue. The sun came ripping through the broken clouds, sending a warm light over the entire ocean, the reflections bouncing and twisting onto the cliffs surrounding the vast expanse of water. The orange shone over the whole landscape, the icy plains turning yellow in the light – this was the beauty of the place, the beauty of their place.

He fell to his knees as the power left him, his arms dropping by his side, his breath ragged and his muscles heavy. Kuruk brought his hand to the necklace and held it, feeling its shape.

The sky was cloudless now.

"One day my love...one day…"

His head was clear now.


End file.
